Ambassador Gerhard Thiedemann

I would like to extend to you a warm welcome to the German Embassy and its website. I hope that through our internet services you will get a valuable insight into our country as well as our tasks and activities here in New Zealand and the South Pacific region. New Zealanders and Germans view each other with a great deal of mutual empathy and respect based on many years of friendly cooperation. Many Kiwis throughout their lives have developed connections to Germany or even speak the language. This makes them a unique bridge between our countries and our people.

In the political field, we share the same values such as freedom, democracy and human rights. Both our governments, parliamentarians and politicians have been working closely together for many years. Our engagement in a bilateral as well as a multilateral context such as the United Nations, is founded on shared principles and close cooperation.

Our relationship is equally strong in the economic, scientific and cultural fields. In 2017, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of our Bilateral Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology with a series of events. Projects in these areas, too, have increased chances of success as cooperative ventures. They require high quality input from entrepreneurs, business representatives and experts from the academic and civic sectors. This is already happening in many areas, with our bilateral trade reaching approx. € 2 billion; a remarkable volume considering the vast geographical distance of 18,000 km between us. Nevertheless, I am confident that we can achieve a further increase in the future.The statistics also show an impressive mutual interest in each other’s country, with 15,000 young Germans taking advantage of the bilateral “Working Holiday Program” in 2016 alone. I will certainly endeavor to intensify and support this trend.

My colleagues and I define our role as intermediaries between our two countries and in particular, the people of Germany and New Zealand. The German Embassy is also responsible for parts of the South Pacific region, namely Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu as well as the Cook Islands, and we are committed to maintain and improve our relationship with those countries as well. Do you require consular assistance? Do you need to get in touch with an expert in New Zealand’s economy, or do you want to study in Germany? Are you interested in our bilateral cultural projects? Please feel free to check our homepage or enquire directly at the Embassy. We would also like to invite you to contact our expert organizations such as the Goethe-Institut in Wellington or the German Language Adviser, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the New Zealand German Business Association (NZGBA) in Auckland.